In order to simulate ice hockey, a floor hockey puck should be of a suitable material and have a suitable weight to sustain the dynamics of an ice hockey game, e.g. so that its movement across a floor will approximate the movement of an ice hockey puck on ice.
Floor hockey pucks have been made of a plastic material. However, these pucks do not properly simulate the motion of an ice hockey puck and since they are non-deformable and hard can cause severe injury when hitting a player.
Floor hockey pucks have also been manufactured of a softer material, such as felt, but the problem that arises is that the puck is too light to simulate an ice hockey puck. In an attempt to increase the weight, a ballast weight has been embedded in the centre of the puck. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,887,188 describes a puck comprising a one-piece body of felt with a ballast weight located centrally within the felt body. The problem however is that with the hitting of the puck during play, the weight works itself out of the centre of the puck, causing erratic movement of the puck.
Canadian Patent No. 2,008,992 describes an indoor hockey puck comprising a felt core provided with a leather skin for sliding on the floor. The leather skin also serves to provide the puck with the required weight to approximate a normal hockey puck. A disadvantage of the puck, however, is that it requires stitching to hold the components of the puck together. The stitching complicates the manufacture of the puck and results in increased cost so that the puck cannot be economically reproduced.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,668 also describes an indoor hockey puck comprising a felt core. In this case, the core is sandwiched between a pair of leather discs. Again, the components of the puck are held together by stitching.
Canadian Patent No. 1,315,818 describes a floor hockey puck comprising a circular disc of felt. Again, stitching is involved. In this case the purpose of the stitching is to import a convex shape to the cylindrical edge of the puck to minimize the tendency of the puck to roll on its edge and to assist the felt in holding its shape.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an indoor hockey puck having a suitable weight to approximate the movement of an ice hockey puck on ice and, at the same time, avoids the use of stitching in its manufacture.